designs from the Jesuit Center August 2014: a rainbow of dancing ravens

Close up dancing ravens. Design by Wayne Stratz. Rainbows of ravens created by Margaret Almon

A client wanted two pieces, both to be mosaics. Both to be collaborations. The first was to be bird inspired, but abstract was OK. I had recently finished reading Debbie Blue’s Consider the Birds. The final chapter was on ravens. Intelligent. Bonding. Playful. Adaptable.

I imagined the birds tumbling in free fall. Playing with a new talent. Developing skills to survive. Dancing for mates. Joy. I imagined one creating a rainbow as it tumbled.

So I went with that thought into a silent retreat and came home eight days later with a design. I cut out the blue sky. The black ravens. Then I handed it off to Margaret and said, “Create the rainbow.”

Dancing ravens create a rainbow: Design by Wayne Stratz. Rainbows of ravens created by Margaret Almon